


Flea's New Life

by AliciaLuar



Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Community: all4onebigbang, Gen, pre ConFlea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-24
Updated: 2014-09-24
Packaged: 2018-02-18 15:57:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2354147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliciaLuar/pseuds/AliciaLuar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years dealing with Charon and his questionable lifestyle, Flea decides that it’s the moment for her to start over. In the process, she is reunited with an old friend and meets a few new ones. It may be also time for her to find someone new to put her eyes on… (modern AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flea's New Life

Even though it was freezing outside and the backpack into which she had thrown most of her stuff felt way too heavy on her back, Flea decided not to use the subway. Instead, she ran; crossing the first streets and getting away from what used to be her flat, to finally keep a steady pace through the Parisian neighborhoods. After so many years walking around the city, she was pretty sure which was the shorter way, but that night she needed some time to think, so she avoided any shortcut and chose instead all the main streets, blending with the people that came out of the shops with Christmas presents. There was a slight cold wind that kept messing her hair and making her nose feel like an ice cube, but she felt free.

As she was getting closer to her destination the streets began to felt less familiar, and Flea started to look for their names beneath the orange light of the lampposts. She had memorized the address each time she and Charon had had a fight, each time he was too close to getting arrested, each time he brought his dirty business too close to their flat, each time he made her lose another job.

The first year, she had been as angry as Charon, and even more hurt than him, but when a letter arrived the following summer, something deep inside her had made her take it from the garbage can where Charon had thrown it and hide it in a drawer. She hadn’t been able to read it until a couple weeks later, and in a few days she had thrown it away again so Charon wouldn't find it. She had already memorized that address by then. Even though at first she tried to deny to herself why she was doing it, as months without him turned into years a plan had been formed in the back of her head.

And now… now she was finally doing it. 

Her feet felt more secure than ever while the sound of her steps resonated in the empty street, and as she approached the building, she raised her head trying to figure out if all this had been in vain. It was almost Christmas day after all, there could be nobody at home… Luckily for her, some lights were on and it looked as someone was indeed in the floor she was searching for. A neighbor chose that moment to exit through the doorway, so she took her chance and got in before the door closed.

She climbed the stairs almost running, she took a deep breath… and she rang the doorbell.

When Porthos opened the door, Flea looked right into his eyes and immediately forgot the little speech she had written in her head. He looked confused and speechless too, and so undeniably _Porthos_ that Flea could feel her eyes start to get wet. Before giving herself the chance to run away, she threw herself into his arms, knowing he would catch her. Porthos arms, big, warm and familiar, made her feel home at last.

“Good God, Flea. It’s freezing cold, come inside,” his voice was just a whisper in her ear and she fought the urge to cry.

It took them a little to untangle, as happy as they were to be hugging each other again, and when Flea entered the flat she realized she was trembling a little. Porthos closed the door and took a good look to her from head to toes, like if he couldn’t believe she was really there. They hugged again.

With both of them more calm now, Flea put her backpack on the floor and they sat together in the big couch. The silence wasn’t exactly uncomfortable (too many years of friendship to feel that again), but there were issues in the air that none of them knew how to bring up, besides maybe some apologies and explanations.

After a while, it was Flea who spoke first “Sorry, I didn’t bring you any Christmas present."

Porthos’ laugh filled the room as loud as it always had been, warming them and making the conversation easier “It’s ok, darling. I don’t even have a tree to put presents under.”

Flea smiled, looking around. It was a nice living room, filled with furniture that looked like it had been picked up from the street and someone had tried really hard to fix. The couch was old but still comfortable, with a colorful patchwork blanket over it, and there was a dining table that had seen better days. Both the carpet and the coffee table had painting stains, and the walls were covered with posters, torn out pages and shelves with lots of stuff. It looked like a place full of stories, and Flea felt happy for Porthos and a little melancholic at the same time.

“How have you been?” she said finally. 

“I should be the one asking you, I didn’t have any news from you since I left." 

“Well… the short version includes Charon being an asshole, and me fleeing just before the police come to visit him.” Her tone was as nonchalant as she could make it, but it didn’t kept Porthos from frowning, and for a moment she was afraid that he would start making questions the answers to which she didn’t want to think about.

“Ok,” he started slowly, “first things first: are you hurt or in danger?”

“What? No, I’m fine,” and at that moment, it was almost true.

“Great” he sighed clearly relieved. “And have you had dinner?”

“No…” she was as confused as relieved on the turn of the conversation.

“Then I’m going to make some pasta and you can tell me anything you need to tell, ok? My flatmates aren’t home and tomorrow I don’t have to get up early.”

Flea smiled almost laughing in relief as she followed him to the kitchen. She had almost forgotten how easy it was to be Porthos’ friend.

At the end, it was Porthos who talked the most while the water boiled and he was preparing some carbonara sauce. Flea had left her coat in the living now that the house’s warmth had finally reached her and she was sitting over the small kitchen’s table. He told her about his first year of university and about Aramis and Athos, the two guys he had met at the gym and who were now his flatmates. He also told her about the fencing club they had joined together and about a guy called d’Artagnan that they met there when he thought Athos had stolen a t-shirt that used to be his father’s from him.

He told her about the stress, the law exams, and the nights that he worked from time to time at a bar called ‘The Garrison’ because the scholarship was great, but not that great. He also told her a couple of embarrassing drunk stories and about the time he woke up hugging a melon in the middle of the campus. He told her he was happy.

During dinner they almost didn’t speak, with Flea gathering her thoughts and enjoying the food and Porthos giving her the space she seemed to need. After that, they moved again to the sofa and Flea rested her head on Porthos’ shoulder, his arm half-cuddling her, and started to talk.

After he had decided to go to college and had left the flat they had rented with Charon on not so good terms, life for her hadn't changed that much. Legal jobs still weren’t Charon’s thing and, because she sometimes needed to get him out of trouble, she also hadn’t done anything stable in the last couple of years. After some rough months, she decided that the address Porthos had sent them the year he moved in with Aramis and Athos was starting to look tempting, and the fact that Charon had gone a bit too far with his dirty business had been just the breaking point. Without them realizing, it was past three in the morning when she finished speaking.

“I’m not in any trouble with the law, and it will take him a while to even notice that I’m not around to help him out, so this feels like a good moment for a fresh start. I guess I’ll search for a flat and a job...”

“Don’t worry about that now.” Porthos had been mostly quiet while she spoke, grunting in the parts when Charon had indeed been an utter asshole, but now he looked rather happy with the outcome of the story. “I think Alice has a free room in her flat. She’s a nice classmate and I can call her.”

Flea thought for a second about saying something about the lines of ‘you don’t have to’, but she knew it would be pointless because Porthos would have insisted, and she definitely needed a place to live, so she just said “Thank you.”

“Until then, you’ll stay here.”

Porthos voice was warm and reassuring, and Flea nodded with a small and grateful smile before looking down to the couch to have a better idea of the size and shape of what that would be her bed for some time. When she looked up again she discovered confused that Porthos was picking up her backpack and was talking again.

“Aramis’ room is way more comfortable than Athos’, and it won’t be the first time that somebody whose name he doesn’t know will sleep there.”

“What? No, I won’t sleep in any of your flatmates rooms! You have a perfectly comfortable couch, so I'll just...”

“Don’t be stupid,” Porthos had already started walking towards the corridor, so Flea got up and started to follow him. “They both are out of the country, and Aramis couldn’t care less.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I would call him, but he’s visiting his family in Spain and it’s the middle of the night, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.”

Flea gave up and followed him into the first door on the left of the corridor. The other one was clearly the bathroom, and in front of it there was another closed room that was probably Athos’. Porthos door was partially opened and she could see a not-really-well-made bed and a desk full of papers.

Aramis room was bigger and it was obvious that its owner had tried to tidy it before leaving the country, because there weren’t any clothes around and the books and stuff on the desk were placed in messy piles. In one corner of the room there was a guitar case and the walls had photos and magazine pages on them.

As he pulled some clean sheets from the upper part of the closet, Porthos commented “Athos and I let him have the bigger room because he was the one that found the flat. Besides, it isn’t like Athos ever has any guests in his bed. He’s in Norway now, doing a two-week course during holidays.”

“How about you? Any boyfriend?” Flea was grinning as she asked, and the very not amused expression on Porthos’ face was a good enough reward.

“Seriously? Are we going to talk about my sex life at 4 a.m.?”

“Hey, you are the one who brought the subject,” she shrugged while helping him set the bedding.

“Shut up and go to sleep,” he smiled throwing a pillow at her head. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them, just looking into each other’s eyes over the bed. “Do you need anything else?”

“I don’t think so” she replied as she walked again towards the door, where he had left her backpack.

He hugged her tight one last time before exiting the room.

“If you need anything, I’m in the room right in front of this one.”

She smiled for herself as she watched him enter his own room and she closed the door.

Feeling better than she had felt in a really long time, Flea had a long and quiet sleep that night. 

* * *

The day after Flea arrived at Porthos doorstep she insisted on calling Aramis to tell him about the sleeping arrangements and confirm that it was ok for her to stay in his room a few days. The bonus, of course, was that she really wanted to know more about that guy whose bed she was sleeping in and why he was able to make Porthos smile like that when he spoke about him. 

Sitting in the kitchen’s table while the pizzas they were having for lunch finished cooking in the oven, he called from his cell phone and activated the speaker. After a few tones there was a happy voice on the other side of the line.

“Porthos, my friend! Good to hear you! You have to help me, my _abuela_ insists that I should bring back home too many _chorizos_ and I won’t be able to eat them all. So I hope you’ll be hungry when I return there.”

Porthos rolled his eyes before answering “Aramis, shut up, you are on speaker.”

“What? Why?”

Flea took that as her cue to say something “Hi, I’m Flea.”

“Porthos, is that a girl?” Aramis sounded so confused that Flea immediately thought that her theory that Porthos’ flatmates already knew the ‘not really into girls’ part of his life was more than confirmed by now.

“Yeah, she’s an old friend, so stop being ridiculous, will you?”

Even if she didn’t know the guy yet, Flea was sure that he was smiling when he asked her “Do you have any embarrassing stories about him, then?”

Flea heard Porthos mumble “I should have known this wasn’t going to be a good idea” before she answered.

“Believe me, I have lots of them. But I expect some others in return.”

“Anyway,” Porthos interrupted Aramis chuckle, “Flea is staying here for some time. She can stay in your room until she finds a place to live, right?”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.”

“Thanks so much, I’ll see you later,” she said and with a smile she went to the living room to leave Porthos a bit of intimacy and finish setting the table. Even so, she could still distinguish part of the rest of the conversation.

“I already took off the speaker, you dork. Yeah… How are you? Really? Don’t be an asshole to her, you were twelve once, remember? … Yes, she’ll stay here at least a week or so… Ok, fine, take care.”

When he returned to the living room, he found her leaning against the couch with a grin on her face. “What?”

“Do you fancy this Aramis?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

A sound from the oven saved him from the conversation and Flea allowed him to retire gracefully not mentioning it again when he returned with the pizzas and clearly ignoring that part of the conversation. After all, she didn’t want to be kicked out of the place so soon.

That evening, as Porthos studied for an exam he had after Christmas holidays, she borrowed his laptop and started searching of jobs in the area. Porthos had already sent an email to his classmate about the flat, but she really needed to find a job as soon as possible if she wanted to be able to afford it.

The next days were spent searching and getting so many “the position is already covered” responses that when Christmas Day actually came all she wanted was to get drunk and forget about her life. When she woke up, hungover and knowing that she owed Athos a lot of vodka (Porthos knew where he hid some of his alcohol and it was a special day after all), Flea decided that maybe she should be a bit more patient. 

But in the end, it turned out that her wishes were answered sooner than she expected. The next day, as she was helping Porthos put some order in his class notes, his phone buzzed. He went to the corridor to talk, and when he returned, there was a smile on his face “You still haven’t found a job yet, right?”

“That’s not a good thing, ya know?”

“Well, I might have some good news for you, then.”

‘The Garrison’ was really nice. It looked like the kind of place you could go at any time, whether to have a cup of coffee in the morning, a hot sandwich at lunch or simply enjoy a couple of beers after dinner with some friends. With its wooden walls covered with posters here and there and a pool table in a corner, Flea could see how the place could be a regular meeting point for any group of friends.

Behind the bar there was a black-haired woman that greeted them as they walked in. "Sorry to bother you at this time of the year, Porthos. Émile ditched the city with his girlfriend without telling us, and everyone else is out of town."

“No problem. This is my friend Flea” he added. “Now that that asshole Bonnaire is gone can I assume that there is a waitress vacancy?”

The woman turned to Flea with a considering look before answering. "Well, that's up to Treville, but with him out of the picture a quick replacement would be welcomed."

Porthos and Flea thanked her and, after saying ‘hi’ to the girl in the kitchen (a short blonde called Celine who reminded Flea of herself when she was eighteen), they went to the second flood to meet the administrator. Unlike downstairs, where there were a few people having breakfast, he was the only person there, sitting on a table with a concerned look on his face and lots of papers in his hands. He was older than Flea expected, and had a military bearing that made her a bit nervous, but the second he saw Porthos his face softened.

“Merry Christmas, Porthos.”

“Merry Christmas, sir.”

He turned then to Flea “And you are…?”

After the presentations were done and Treville apologized again for having called Porthos in such short notice, they started discussing the possibility of hiring Flea as waitress. At the end, they agreed that since Porthos needed to study for his exams, she would cover Bonnaire’s place during the holidays and after that they would see if she could stay more time.

“Well, Flea” Treville finally said with a smile and a touch of solemnity in his voice. “Welcome to The Garrison family.”

With that problem solved, Flea fell into a routine in just a couple of days since working at The Garrison was easy-going, and soon she found it enjoyable to have a conversation with Celine across the kitchen window or to listen to all the gossip Christine knew about the usuals. The other girls that usually worked there (Adele, Charlotte and Agnes) were on vacation, but all the things that she heard about them were nice ones. Porthos would always make his study-break coincide with her own break to bring her lunch and chat with her for a while, and even if Treville still looked a bit intimidating, he always greeted her with a smile.

It was four days after New Year’s Day when Alice finally answered Porthos’ email. Along with apologies for the delay, she also told him that she still had a vacant room in her flat and she would love to meet his friend to see if it would appeal to them both for her to move there.

Alice was a nice girl, with long dark hair, blue eyes and a shy smile that turned even shier if Porthos was looking at her. While Porthos and Flea ordered strong coffee, she was having tea with a lot of sugar in little sips. Flea thought she was adorable.

The three of them had met in a coffee shop near to her flat so the girls could meet and so far, Flea had learned that she was in Porthos' law class, that the flat was owned by her parents, and that the rent was affordable enough if Treville decided to keep her in The Garrison after the holidays. Alice didn’t know her parents’ plans about the flat in summer, but until July Flea could move in with her.

Porthos had finished describing what he remembered about the living room from one time he had gone to give Alice some papers when the girl finished her tea and talked to Flea directly.

"Tell me about you, Flea. What are you studying? Porthos didn't tell me that much on the email."

Flea could feel how Porthos tensed a little next to her and she wondered if his life when he started college had been like that, with people asking questions whose answers he was not sure he wanted to give. In other circumstances, she would have lied her way out. She would had told Alice about some kind of scholarship and invented some course she was attending instead of looking for another job to be able to save some money. And she knew she was good enough to make Alice believe every single word.

But Flea also knew that if she really wanted to start over, she had to stop deflecting troubles, so she went with the blunt option before Porthos felt like he had to make any kind of excuse for her. “Actually, right now I’m just trying to adjust after having left a not really good situation behind, but I got a new job and I’m looking for what I wanna do next with my life.”

“Oh” Alice said, and for a moment she blinked a bit confused, like she hadn’t expected that answer. Porthos was also looking at Flea, but he was smiling, so she guessed that her decision hadn’t been the wrong one. “Well… Then… do you want to go see the room?”

It was so obvious that Flea wasn’t the only one that found that awkward, that for a moment she felt like laughing.

The flat had two bedrooms, a living room and a really small kitchen, but it was more than enough for just the two of them. The room was very nice, not big but with enough space for the bed, a good size closet and a small desk beneath the window. She would have to buy some sheets and put something on the walls to make it feel less empty, but it was all she needed at that moment.

Moving her stuff from Porthos’ house to her new space was fast and after she was finally installed and he had hugged her goodbye that night, she let herself fall over the bed and smiled looking up at the ceiling. She felt tired, but at the same time it was like  she could have taken over the world with her bare hands. She felt like  the universe was really giving her a second chance.

Flea hadn’t spent too much time resting when a really light knock made her look at the door.

 “Yeah?”

The soft voice of her flatmate came from the corridor “If you are done settling your things, I was thinking that maybe we could watch a movie?” Flea got up to open the door while Alice added, “If you want to, of course…”

“Sure” Flea smiled at the obvious ‘not-sure-if-I’m-bothering-you’ face of the other girl. “Anything in mind?”

“There’s ‘Legally Blonde’ on the TV and I made popcorn.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Flea followed her to the living room, made herself comfortable in the couch and smiled happily as she took a handful of popcorn. This was definitely going to work.

* * *

When Flea had joined a course at the university, she had expected to feel utterly lost with being at school again. Listening to a teacher and taking notes felt like something really far away, and it was weird learning to do it at this point of her life. She also had expected to be a bit slow with the stuff they were learning. After all, her use of computers was usually limited to using her email and few more things, so learning how to actually make a website was almost too much for her. 

That didn’t mean that it had been a bad idea. When Alice returned from her classes with the brochure Flea had been a bit unwilling to try it, but her flatmate had convinced her that it would be a nice addition to her curriculum, and she had to admit that she was having fun.

But what she hadn’t expected was the girl sitting right before her. And neither had she expected to feel that fascinated about her bare shoulders.

Since it was still January, the school always had the heat on, and when added to the computers running and a bunch of people, it was always hot in the classroom. It was probably the reason why that girl with red curly hair always took of her coat as soon as she entered the class, usually leaving her with some t-shirt that left her shoulders in sight. Her lovely, freckled shoulders that were just in Flea’s view line.

It had only been a few classes so far, and Flea was already in love with those shoulders.

She was still thinking about it while she cleaned some glasses at The Garrison on Friday evening. Agnes had asked her to cover her shift, and since she hadn’t seen Porthos in some days due to the exams period, she was waiting for him to come by and grab something for dinner after work.

“Flea!” Porthos voice sounded happy when he entered The Garrison, and Flea smiled as she put aside her daydreaming and greeted him. Behind him there were two other guys that she recognized from the pictures in their home. “May I introduce you to the assholes that almost made me miss my last exam today?”

“Oi!” said the one that she knew was Aramis, “It’s not our fault that yesterday I had to put your cell in silent mode because it won’t shut up with your ‘study’ reminders.”

“And in my defense I also had an exam today and you finished the coffee last night” completed Athos impassive.

Porthos rolled his eyes “Anyway… Flea: Aramis and Athos, Aramis and Athos: Flea.”

“You have already made acquaintance with my bed, but if you ever want to return there just tell me,” Aramis leaned over the counter winking and Flea couldn’t help but laugh at his boldness.

“Please do not believe that all of Porthos friends want to bed you,” Athos sounded like he was trying to look exasperated, but there was a glimpse of amusement in his eyes that betrayed him.

“Won’t do, don’t worry,” Flea smiled at him. “Nice to meet you both, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Likewise,” Athos was as quiet as Porthos had told her, and after a couple stories she had already formed an image of Aramis that was being confirmed, so it felt nice exchanging a few words with them.

“We are going to celebrate the end of our exams,” Porthos told her, “and I thought you might want to come with us.”

Flea saw that Christine was arriving at that moment meaning that her shift was over, so she told them to wait for her for several minutes more. As she walked away, she thought she heard Aramis saying something about people missing, but she didn’t care too much about it.

After telling Treville that she was leaving, she went to the back room to change to her usual clothes and returned to where the guys were waiting for her. She was trying to gather her hair in a messy ponytail when she looked up at the counter where the others were and she froze on the spot.

There were two new people with Porthos, Aramis and Athos that she didn’t knew. One was a skinny guy that looked younger than the rest of them, and she assumed that he was the d’Artagnan she had been told about. He was talking to Athos even if he looked as if he was only half listening. But the other person was the one that captured her attention, even if she was looking at Aramis and Porthos and therefore had her back turned to Flea. Because she was wearing a pink t-shirt with a wide neck that left her shoulders to the air. And Flea knew those shoulders.

Before she had time to process it, Porthos realized she was already there and waved his hand giving her no choice but to approach them trying to hide her confusion. 

“Hey, there you are,” said Porthos smiling at her, “D’artagnan, Constance, this is my friend Flea.”

“Nice to meet you,” the guy turned to her with a wide smile that made him look even younger.

The girl was smiling too, but she was also squinting a bit and Flea wasn’t sure about how she should react when Constance asked, “Have we already met?”

Flea swallowed and asked herself if saying that she had been daydreaming about her shoulders all week was a good way to break the ice or not. Luckily for her, the other girl seemed to suddenly remember her and saved her from saying something inappropriate in front of people she knew for less than half an hour.

“Oh, I know! You are also doing the web-building course, right?”

“Yes, actually I think I sit right behind you.”

“Well, nice to meet you officially, then.” Constance smiled and Flea wondered what the odds were of all of that happening. She also wondered if her lips tasted as good as they looked, but she decided not to say that out loud.

“So,” said Aramis interrupting her thoughts, “pizzas and beer?”

As they got out of The Garrison, Flea tried to listen more than talk. Being the newbie of the group made her want to play it safe, but soon she was dragged into the conversations and when they were close to the small restaurant she was surprised to realize how comfortable she was with all them. Athos was mostly silent, but she saw him smirk more than once at her jokes, and it was impossible not to like d’Artagnan’s cheerfulness.

Aramis and Constance were also really cool people, and after Flea told them that she had a video of Porthos drunk-singing Avril Laving, it was more than obvious that they weren’t just being friendly. It was also obvious that Porthos hated her now more than ever as he grunted something while d’Artagnan unsuccessfully tried to hide his chuckles.

“That’s it, you are officially one of the gang now,” said Aramis throwing an arm over her shoulder, and Flea smiled at him.

“Finally I’m not going to be the only girl among all these guys," Constance's voice was welcoming too and Flea looked back at her, trying to guess if she really had a chance with her. It was difficult to say from just a glance back, but Flea had nothing to lose and Constance was a really nice person…

“Please, don’t bundle me with this lot,” d’Artagnan muttered then, and Porthos laughed as Aramis made an over-exaggerated gasp raising his hand to his chest in an offended gesture.

“Don’t worry, darling, you are the best of them,” Constance smiled as she hooked her arm around his, but Flea couldn’t help but notice a strange look in d’Artagnan’s eyes and that he still looked a bit tense. Soon they arrived at the restaurant and the moment was quickly forgotten in her head and being substituted with the pressing need of deciding what to eat.

Dinner was fun and Flea thought about taking her chance and try to figure out if there was something between Constance and d’Artagnan, but soon she was informed that they only shared a flat and that Constance had officially adopted him as a brother. (“I’m not complaining, but I thought you had enough siblings already” was his only comment with his mouth still full of pizza, and Flea was secretly pleased to hear that).

Aramis was the one of them more used to go out, and when had they finished dinner and were walking around the parisian streets with the night ahead of them he suggested a pub to go have some drinks. Neither of them had to get up early the next day, and Flea soon was squeezed between Constance and d’Artagnan on a couch in the back of a bar with a beer in her hands. The noise made it difficult to have a conversation with all the group at the same time, and Flea took her chance to ask Constance more about herself.

She was studying to be teacher and from her enthusiasm talking about it Flea knew that she was going to be way better than any teacher she had ever had. After they had been talking for a while Flea also realized that the initial intent in her eyes had changed from “I think Constance is cute and I have nothing to lose” from “I could fall in love with someone like her”. She was worried from a moment, but on the other hand the previous statement was still true, so why not flirt a little? But before that, the firsts beers had already been gone.

“Another round?” Flea asked standing. “If someone else helps me carry them, this one is on me.” Her eyes were fixed in Constance’s as she said that, but Porthos voice made her turn her head and hushed the faint protests of the others saying that she didn’t have to pay for their drinks.

“I’ll help you.”

The night was long in front of them and he looked as if he wanted to talk to her, so she shrugged and followed him to the counter taking out her wallet before he could stop her. While the bartender was pouring the drinks, he turned towards her. 

“Since when are you into girls?”

“Who says I’m into girls?”

“Flea, please. You are looking at Constance like you used to look at me when we were ten...”

She didn’t appreciate the memory. Not that she was ashamed of having loved Porthos that way, but now that thought felt ridiculous because he was like her brother and she knew that she never got a chance in the first place, as he had told her that he liked boys when she had tried to kiss him one day while ditching class.

“I would have told you, but somehow it didn’t seem as important as telling you that Charon was going to be put in jail and that I needed a place to live.

"It’s not, obviously, but…”

“Charon and me tried it for a while, did you know?” She knew that she was avoiding the question, but if they were going to have a conversation about that, she might as well be the one deciding what to tell him and how to do it.

“You know I did not,” Porthos sighed looking like he was tired of playing games, but Flea trusted that he would put up with her until she reached her point. She would have looked at him to be sure, but it was easier to talk about it like if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Well, it was a kinda on-and-off thing that didn’t last much, really. But after that I just decided I was fed up with guys. As it turned up, I wasn’t with girls.”

Porthos eyes had softened and his voice was gentle when he asked “Does anyone else know it?”

“No, but it's only my business if I think that everybody is hot but girls are less likely to be assholes, so there’s really nothing to talk about. Can this conversation be over, please?”

He looked at her carefully, but whatever he found seemed enough to indulge her and drop it, not before adding raising his eyebrows “You know she has a boyfriend? One that we all hate, but she apparently doesn’t.”

“You know that’s her problem?”

She grinned at Porthos and turned towards the gang taking with her a couple of the beers, but as she sat again and joined the conversation, she couldn’t help but think that Porthos had a point. Flirting was fun and easy, and she was definitely into Constance, but if she had a boyfriend the possibilities of achieving anything more than disappointment would be too high for her liking.

The rest of the night went on easily and some hours later she found herself teaching Aramis how to tell when Porthos was cheating at cards in exchange of some knowledge about Spanish curse words. She had tried to talk more with all of them instead of focusing only in Constance and with the exception of Athos, who stayed in the corner of the table apparently ignoring the conversations and jokes around him, everyone welcomed her jokes.

It wasn't until hours later, as she entered her flat carefully to not wake up Alice, that she remembered that she hadn't figured out if Porthos was into Aramis or not. Just after that thought reached her, a buzz from her phone called her attention. A message from said Aramis telling her that next time he would buy the extra round in exchange for Porthos' videos made her think that she would have more time to figure that out.

* * *

Next Monday, Flea entered the classroom as any of the previous days, but she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. At some moment during the night, Aramis had grabbed her phone and saved his number on it, so she was pretty sure that that meant that they officially friends. But she wasn’t sure about how her relationship with Constance was now, since they had seemed to jump from barely acknowledging each other other in class to be in the same group of friends in the span of a weekend. She definitely wasn’t going to complain about it, but she was unsure about how Constance felt about it. Maybe that night Flea had thought that she was being friendly because she had really wanted to? The girl in question was now late for class, so it wasn’t like Flea could ask her.

Just when the lesson was starting Constance arrived apologizing for the delay and shot a quick smile to Flea before sitting down in front of her computer. Flea was ready to mentally rehearse what to say to her when the lesson was finished when a vibration from her phone distracted her.

 

 **From:** Constance

Hey, Aramis gave me your number the other day, I hope it’s fine 

 

 **To:** Constance

no problem, nice to talk to you here :)

 

 **From:** Constance

To be fair, it was Aramis’ fault that I’m late today

 

 **To:** Constance

oh? how’s that?

 

 **From:** Constance

They were trying to prank d’Artagnan and they wouldn’t let me out of the flat

 

Flea barely hide a chuckle and she put the phone down just before the teacher looked at her. The next vibration from her phone wasn’t a surprise.

 

 **From:** Constance

I’m gonna stop the messaging for a while, the teacher is giving me weird looks :P

 

Flea smiled at Constance’s nape and tried to pay attention to the class, repeating in her head _you shouldn’t flirt with her, you shouldn’t flirt with her_ until a last vibration made her look again.

 

 **From:** Constance

BTW, feel free to text me at any time, my morning classes are usually pretty boring…

 

Oh, well. Maybe just a little flirting wouldn't hurt…


End file.
